St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, May 23
Mason, Ohio (Prasco Field)
7:30 p.m.
St. John's University
36-16-1
8
vs
7
No. 4 Xavier
30-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Xavier
0
3
0
1
3
0
0
0
0
7
10
2
St. John's
3
2
0
0
1
0
0
2
X
8
14
1
St. John’s Advances to Championship Saturday with 8-7 Victory over Xavier
5/24/2024 1:21:00 AM | Baseball
Jimmy Keenan lifts Red Storm to first title game since 2018 with go-ahead two-run homer in eighth inning
MASON, OHIO (May 24, 2024) – One day after walking off on third-seeded Georgetown, sophomore catcher Jimmy Keenan lifted the St. John's baseball team (36-16-1) to an 8-7 win over Xavier (30-26) with a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning at Prasco Park on Saturday night.
The Red Storm will make its first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship game since 2018 after a heroic effort from the Johnnies' plate protector. With the Johnnies trailing by one, 7-6, heading into the bottom of the eighth, left fielder Garrett Scavelli smacked a leadoff single through the left side. Two batters later, Keenan belted a two-run rocket into the left-field scoreboard to go up one, 8-7.
The White Plains, N.Y., native logged a game-high four RBIs in Saturday's victory, going 3-for-5 at the dish. Keenan has logged six RBIs through two BIG EAST Tournament games.
Scavelli paced the squad with three runs scored while managing a 2-for-4 day at the dish. Marty Higgins matched Keenan in base knocks with three, also recording an RBI and a run scored. Blake Mayberry and Luke Orbon also chipped in two hits apiece.
The Red Storm broke out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on a Xavier miscue. With runners on second and third following a wild pitch that moved Jackson Tucker and Scavelli up 90 feet, Keenan slapped an RBI groundout to short to take a 1-0 edge. Two pitches later, Higgins ripped a double off the left-center wall and knocked in another run, 2-0. Shortly after, Paul Orbon slapped a 2-2 pitch into right-center to bring the Johnnies' first baseman across for a 3-0 advantage.
Xavier retaliated in the top of the second with three of its own to deadlock the score on run-producing singles from Matthew DePrey and Grant Stephenson.
The Johnnies quickly reclaimed a two-run edge in the home half of the frame. Following a leadoff single from Luke Orbon, who moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt, Scavelli ripped the first offering from Logan Schmidt into center for an RBI base knock and a 4-3 lead. St. John's smacked back-to-back singles through the right side with Keenan bringing Scavelli in from third for a 5-3 advantage.
The Musketeers chipped away at the Red Storm's lead by loading the bases and scoring one run in the fourth. However, Anthony Brienza limited Xavier with a diving stop over at second to prevent any further damage.
Xavier took the lead in the fifth, capitalizing on a DePrey bunt single and a fielding error that allowed two runs to score.
St. John's cut its deficit in half, 7-6, with one run in the bottom of the frame, seeing Ben Beauchamp cross on a throwing error by Xavier's second baseman.
Southpaw Ben Adams stifled the Musketeers in the sixth, stranding runners on first and third and catching Carter Hendrickson trying to swipe home to end the frame. After tossing a blank seventh, the Ontario native kept the Xavier at bay for his third scoreless stanza. Adams finished his outing allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out three batters.
Keenan delivered the game-winning blow to the fourth-seeded Musketeers with his emphatic two-run homer to claim a one-run edge the Johnnies would not relinquish.
Sam Mettert came on in the ninth and blew strike three past all three batters he faced, retiring the side in order to send St. John's to Championship Saturday.
St. John's will look to capture its BIG EAST-leading 10th tournament championship on Saturday as it awaits the winner of third-seeded Georgetown and fourth-seeded Xavier. FS1 will carry the title game from Prasco Park with first pitch slated for noon.
The Red Storm will make its first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship game since 2018 after a heroic effort from the Johnnies' plate protector. With the Johnnies trailing by one, 7-6, heading into the bottom of the eighth, left fielder Garrett Scavelli smacked a leadoff single through the left side. Two batters later, Keenan belted a two-run rocket into the left-field scoreboard to go up one, 8-7.
The White Plains, N.Y., native logged a game-high four RBIs in Saturday's victory, going 3-for-5 at the dish. Keenan has logged six RBIs through two BIG EAST Tournament games.
Scavelli paced the squad with three runs scored while managing a 2-for-4 day at the dish. Marty Higgins matched Keenan in base knocks with three, also recording an RBI and a run scored. Blake Mayberry and Luke Orbon also chipped in two hits apiece.
The Red Storm broke out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on a Xavier miscue. With runners on second and third following a wild pitch that moved Jackson Tucker and Scavelli up 90 feet, Keenan slapped an RBI groundout to short to take a 1-0 edge. Two pitches later, Higgins ripped a double off the left-center wall and knocked in another run, 2-0. Shortly after, Paul Orbon slapped a 2-2 pitch into right-center to bring the Johnnies' first baseman across for a 3-0 advantage.
Xavier retaliated in the top of the second with three of its own to deadlock the score on run-producing singles from Matthew DePrey and Grant Stephenson.
The Johnnies quickly reclaimed a two-run edge in the home half of the frame. Following a leadoff single from Luke Orbon, who moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt, Scavelli ripped the first offering from Logan Schmidt into center for an RBI base knock and a 4-3 lead. St. John's smacked back-to-back singles through the right side with Keenan bringing Scavelli in from third for a 5-3 advantage.
The Musketeers chipped away at the Red Storm's lead by loading the bases and scoring one run in the fourth. However, Anthony Brienza limited Xavier with a diving stop over at second to prevent any further damage.
Xavier took the lead in the fifth, capitalizing on a DePrey bunt single and a fielding error that allowed two runs to score.
St. John's cut its deficit in half, 7-6, with one run in the bottom of the frame, seeing Ben Beauchamp cross on a throwing error by Xavier's second baseman.
Southpaw Ben Adams stifled the Musketeers in the sixth, stranding runners on first and third and catching Carter Hendrickson trying to swipe home to end the frame. After tossing a blank seventh, the Ontario native kept the Xavier at bay for his third scoreless stanza. Adams finished his outing allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out three batters.
Keenan delivered the game-winning blow to the fourth-seeded Musketeers with his emphatic two-run homer to claim a one-run edge the Johnnies would not relinquish.
Sam Mettert came on in the ninth and blew strike three past all three batters he faced, retiring the side in order to send St. John's to Championship Saturday.
St. John's will look to capture its BIG EAST-leading 10th tournament championship on Saturday as it awaits the winner of third-seeded Georgetown and fourth-seeded Xavier. FS1 will carry the title game from Prasco Park with first pitch slated for noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Adams, Ben (3-1)
L: KELLY, Jonathan (2-3)
S: Mettert, Sam (6)
Batting:
2B: DePREY, Matthew 1
RBI: ANDERSON, Aedan 1 ; MISCH, Connor 1 ; DePREY, Matthew 2 ; STEPHENSON, Grant 2
Base Running:
RUNS: McCORMICK, Matt 2 ; HENDRICKSON, Carter 2 ; HAMMOND, Luke 3
CS: HENDRICKSON, Carter 1
HBP: HENDRICKSON, Carter 1 ; HAMMOND, Luke 1
Batting:
2B: Higgins, Marty 1
HR: Keenan, Jimmy 1
RBI: Tucker, Jackson 1 ; Scavelli, Garrett 1 ; Keenan, Jimmy 4 ; Higgins, Marty 1 ; Orbon, Paul 1
SH: Brienza, Anthony 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Tucker, Jackson 1 ; Scavelli, Garrett 3 ; Keenan, Jimmy 1 ; Higgins, Marty 1 ; Beauchamp, Ben 1 ; Orbon, Luke 1
SB: Orbon, Luke 1
PO: Orbon, Luke 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballSt. John's Baseball vs Villanova Highlights 5.11.25
Sunday, May 11
St. John's Baseball vs Villanova Highlights 5.10.25
Saturday, May 10
St. John's Baseball vs Iona Highlights 4.29.2025
Tuesday, April 29
St. John's Baseball vs Rutgers Highlights 4.22.2025
Tuesday, April 22